Thursday, August 30, 2012

Who built it?

For a party whose symbol is an elephant, Republicans sure are forgetful.

While Paul Ryan continued the serial fabrication that has marked the GOP convention (cost $18 million in federal dollars) in the Tampa Bay Times Forum ($86 million in public subsidies), folks in New Orleans were riding out Isaac thanks in part to a $14 billion investment to rebuild levees that failed after Katrina seven years earlier.

Ryan went all fire and brimstone on Barack Obama -- a theme of a convention that has offered little in support of nominee Mitt Romney, save for his wife.

If you hear the GOP tell it, things just haven't been the same since the last Republican President, Ronald Reagan.

What's the you say? There have been two other Republican chief executives since then?

Even more noticeable than the absence of facts has been the disappearance of George Bush pere and fils, who along with Reagan oversaw the massive explosion of debt that Ryan and Romney propose to eliminate by cutting taxes yet again on the rich.

Bush 41 became anathema to the true believers (and like Romney, they never really trusted him) after he failed to read his own lips about new taxes.

Bush 43 -- who took over the Clinton surplus and ran up the credit card with two wars, an unfunded Medicare prescription benefit and massive tax cuts for the rich -- is as invisible as non-angry, minority women at the convention. The party line is history ceased between Bush v. Gore and the Obama inauguration.

Is it any wonder Ryan, whose House GOP colleagues have worked to lower the nation's credit rating, would join the amnesia set and focus on the alleged inaction of Obama.

Which brings us to tonight, when Willard M. Romney achieves his quest to succeed where his father failed and accepts the GOP nomination. As regular readers know, Romney has taken more stances than there are positions on issues. And his sister Jane suggests another flip is in the offing.

It all makes for great theatrics. Until you remember that Republicans can't handle the truth.